A skydiver who crash-landed in a remote location, shattering the bones in her leg, is the latest to give thanks to Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance in its anniversary year.
Lisa, an Early Years Nursery Manager from Edwinstowe, had jumped out of a plane at 3,500ft at Nottinghamshire’s Langar Airfield, when she lost her bearings and knew her solo sky dive had gone disastrously wrong.
She crashed to the ground, breaking most of the bones in her right leg. Due to the severity of her injuries and the remote location of the airstrip, Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance (LNAA) was immediately dispatched.
Lisa remembers waking up on that day in September 1999 feeling nervous and excited. She had already completed one solo jump earlier in the year and decided to do another jump for a 30th birthday treat.
She said: “I got in the plane with a few others. When my turn came, I sat on the edge looking down on a patchwork quilt of fields, with my stomach churning.
“Pushing myself out, I felt the parachute open behind me and I was free falling for a few seconds before the canopy inflated.
“You are in total control of your descent. You are trained to use the altimeter, monitor your speed, and pull the cords to change direction. But instructors on the ground are constantly advising you via radio on your descent.”
Suddenly, Lisa was struggling to get her bearings and started to panic as she couldn’t hear the instructors telling her how to get on course. By the time she had steered herself in the right spot, she realised she was too low and unable to slow down in time.
Lisa crashed to the ground, immediately hearing the crack as her leg bones broke. Laying on the runway, she raised her arm as she had been taught to do in case of an emergency and waited for help to arrive.
She says words cannot describe her relief when she saw LNAA’s helicopter land close to where she lay. The doctor and paramedic straightened Lisa’s leg, wrapping an inflatable splint around it to give protection and she was then airlifted to Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre.
Lisa is now the proud owner of several metal rods and plates between knee and ankle and 24 years later she still finds it painful to walk.
Lisa will always be indebted to the LNAA crew and believes that the air ambulance makes all the difference in getting anywhere in the county so quickly.
She summed up: “Without LNAA there would be a massive gap in service and in some circumstances loss of life without a doubt.”
Lisa’s story is one of 30 patients’ stories being shared by Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Since 13th May 1994, the charity has been called to over 29,500 missions, providing pre-hospital care to some of the most critically ill and injured people in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.